When you’re a rising artist like Nali, life never fails to come at you fast. One moment, you’re finding your own rhythm within your career, and then, BOOM: the right moment comes along that propels you into the eyes of many to the beat of its own drum. That’s how the cards played for the Brooklyn-bred singer when a snippet of her breakout single “4 U” began to circulate across social media, receiving co-signs from industry heavy-hitters like Khalid and Ca$h Cobain. Before she could even give herself a proper introduction, she began winning over the ears of fans with her earnest lyrics and velvet-like delivery. As she confidently says she’s been catching up to the moment in our exclusive EARMILK interview, she also explains that it hasn’t been the easiest to immediately digest. “It wasn't really like, ‘Yo, this is, I'm about to take this all the way. I think when I really was, like… let's really try to do this last year.”
Fast forward to today, the “Maybe” songwriter is catching her footing and embracing the vulnerability within her music and artistic pursuits. Fresh off her debut project from last year I Love Nali and currently on tour opening for Jordan Ward, she continues to prove that her viral moment was not one of luck, but one of due time. The heart and soul of the eight-song EP resides in the singer’s ability to dare not leave a stone unturned. It comes across clearly on tracks like the jazzy confessional “journal entry” or “crossfaded”, an upbeat album cut embodying all the emotions leading to a 2 AM situationship text. Especially on her latest single "Maybe", a spacey collaboration with Coi Leray that finds her addressing the elephant in the room headfirst with a potential beau. If anything, Nali’s ability to bare her soul within her music is her X-factor. When she does, the lyrics flow out of her like water within a vocal pocket that’s as smooth as the inside of a bonnet; even she says that it’s the moments she doesn’t when the well runs dry.
“When I get writer's block, I realize I am not telling the truth in my music or I'm scared to say something. Or to say what's actually going on in my life.Those are the best [songs]. When you're like, ‘Yo, I don't want to write about this.’ You shouldn't.”
As her debut project was built off of raw emotion, fans can expect her follow-up project slated to drop this year, I Hate Nali, to focus on highlighting the production and her musical influences. Being a third-generation musician growing up on jazz and R&B, the 23 year-old singer is looking to take a leap “sonically”, potentially leaning into a more uptempo, pop sound. No matter where her sound evolves next, she’s made one thing clear: her truth will always be the loudest thing in the room.
